Erin's Garden Journal—August 23, 2015

August 18, 2015

Our mystery pots left here by PGTA have sprouts growing. Some probably need thinning, but we're still not sure what was planted. Waiting to hear back.

Hot, humid weather this week, which encourages powdery mildew. Squash plants looking sad. Time to try the apple cider vinegar treatment.

More tomatoes ripe, but not in remarkable numbers

Rain barrels empty again.

Food bank harvest:
  • 4 bags of mixed greens
  • 2 bags of sage
  • 1 bag of basil
  • 1 bag of dill

August 19, 2015
Garden Together Night
9 attendees

Peppers are fruiting—even the two tiny pepper plants


Built cages for wildly growing tomatoes out of chicken wire and bamboo


Added five conventional tomato cages for tamer plants

Harvest: 3 squash, a few tomatoes

Tested apple cider vinegar spray (3 Tbs apple cider vinegar to 1 gallon of water) on a small area of squash leaves. Will check in after a day of sunlight to make sure it does not cause the leaves to burn.

Planted peas and beans in pots for another community organization seeking seedlings for an event in a few weeks

August 20, 2015

Checked the test area of cider vinegar spray and found no leaf burn. Sprayed the rest of the squash plants.

Tomatoes ripening on more plants than before


Rain last night filled the barrels again

Canoe garden looking lush

August 21, 2015
Squashes not looking much better after spray treatment. Next year we will keep a better watch and use preventative treatments.

August 23, 2015
Squashes still looking sad. We should remove any leaves past hope of recovery.

Nasturtiums planted in the hugel mound are growing GIANT leaves


Mixed greens almost ready to harvest again

Remaining bush beans are getting tough. We should think about leaving the last of the crop to ripen into seeds


Uprooted the hollyhock as it was going to seed. We enjoyed one cheerful flower among the tomatoes, but it's better to avoid an army of them next year.

Harvested a dozen tomatoes to store a few days for the food bank. The yellow cherry tomatoes are hard to spot and are often splitting open before anyone picks them.

The flowers in the half barrel could use some attention—lots of dead stalks and blooms to remove.


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